I'm a big fan of '40's and '50's B movies. I go in not expecting much and have been invariably surprised.
After viewing, I thought if this film were at Warner Brothers in 1946...it'd been a Bette Davis vehicle for sure. Bette would be the seasoned woman with a trunk full of dark secrets in her past, paying for mistakes she'd made and for some she's only suspected of. The movie would have a searing high powered Max Steiner score under toning her showdowns with clinging mothers, intruding god mothers, a lustful creep,a wimpy love interest and the nearby he man...all set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Bahamas.
But it's 1956, the studio is Republic and the star is Yvonne De Carlo. And it works in a way. Another reviewer mentioned time and for lack of an added 5 or 6 minutes, the film suffers so. The ending particularly.
***SPOILER ALERT WARNING****
This is a great one to summarize. Yvonne (as Rosiland) accepts a princessly sum from a recent widow (Freida Inescort) as Mrs. Hammond and decides to venture forth with friend Wade (Zachary Scott). Wade's friend Mace (Kurt Kasznar) talks the two into checking out a Casino/Resort he's set up but can't open because he needs operating capital. Roz and Wade check it out, and throw in with Mace. Since Roz can sing and dance a little, she'll be the stage show attraction. Mace wants it to be a private club, for rich high rollers.
Mace (the Creep) introduces them to Kelly (James Arness) a boat captain/beachcomber/preacher (the He-Man). Roz charters a boat, privately...and catches not only a marlin but a pass from Kelly.
Then at the dock she meets bad penny #1 Howard Duff (Doug Duryea) an old teen aged flame. I won't even go into what's in their past...just watch the movie. Doug (the Wimp)and Roz connect and plan to marry, naturally against controlling mama Barbara O'Neil's objections. But the aqua clear waters get muddier as bad penny #2 shows up...Mrs. Hammond, best friend to mama Duryea and Doug's godmother!
Yvonne must survive a wimpy fiancé, bribing and slanderous old biddies, though the so called invalid...she uses a cane; new widow Mrs. Hammond looks pretty attractive (but no men, even the wrong type seem interested in her), a creep (Mace) who wants her, whether she wants him or not and Mace's unsavory silent business partners...who she's unaware till near the end.
Then the story becomes an adventure tale for 6 or 7 minutes, as she and He Man Arness escape the baddies and find true love as The End title card comes up. This sequence seems rushed, it would have been better if it'd been expanded on some.
Oh,yeah...Yvonne is drop dead gorgeous, be it wiggling in a tight white gown doing her floor routine, or fighting a marlin for over an hour. Notice the white short outfit she battled the marlin in and the fashionable hoop skirt cover up on the dock. No wonder Captain Kelly went all gaga!
After viewing, I thought if this film were at Warner Brothers in 1946...it'd been a Bette Davis vehicle for sure. Bette would be the seasoned woman with a trunk full of dark secrets in her past, paying for mistakes she'd made and for some she's only suspected of. The movie would have a searing high powered Max Steiner score under toning her showdowns with clinging mothers, intruding god mothers, a lustful creep,a wimpy love interest and the nearby he man...all set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Bahamas.
But it's 1956, the studio is Republic and the star is Yvonne De Carlo. And it works in a way. Another reviewer mentioned time and for lack of an added 5 or 6 minutes, the film suffers so. The ending particularly.
***SPOILER ALERT WARNING****
This is a great one to summarize. Yvonne (as Rosiland) accepts a princessly sum from a recent widow (Freida Inescort) as Mrs. Hammond and decides to venture forth with friend Wade (Zachary Scott). Wade's friend Mace (Kurt Kasznar) talks the two into checking out a Casino/Resort he's set up but can't open because he needs operating capital. Roz and Wade check it out, and throw in with Mace. Since Roz can sing and dance a little, she'll be the stage show attraction. Mace wants it to be a private club, for rich high rollers.
Mace (the Creep) introduces them to Kelly (James Arness) a boat captain/beachcomber/preacher (the He-Man). Roz charters a boat, privately...and catches not only a marlin but a pass from Kelly.
Then at the dock she meets bad penny #1 Howard Duff (Doug Duryea) an old teen aged flame. I won't even go into what's in their past...just watch the movie. Doug (the Wimp)and Roz connect and plan to marry, naturally against controlling mama Barbara O'Neil's objections. But the aqua clear waters get muddier as bad penny #2 shows up...Mrs. Hammond, best friend to mama Duryea and Doug's godmother!
Yvonne must survive a wimpy fiancé, bribing and slanderous old biddies, though the so called invalid...she uses a cane; new widow Mrs. Hammond looks pretty attractive (but no men, even the wrong type seem interested in her), a creep (Mace) who wants her, whether she wants him or not and Mace's unsavory silent business partners...who she's unaware till near the end.
Then the story becomes an adventure tale for 6 or 7 minutes, as she and He Man Arness escape the baddies and find true love as The End title card comes up. This sequence seems rushed, it would have been better if it'd been expanded on some.
Oh,yeah...Yvonne is drop dead gorgeous, be it wiggling in a tight white gown doing her floor routine, or fighting a marlin for over an hour. Notice the white short outfit she battled the marlin in and the fashionable hoop skirt cover up on the dock. No wonder Captain Kelly went all gaga!